(3) K-3 "Do dogs have exceptional eyesight?" "How do we know when dogs were domesticated?" "Why does the Shih Tzu have a white spot on its head?" "Who's the world's tallest dog?" In this browsable survey, Abbott briefly answers questions (and poses the occasional riddle) about dog physiology, behaviors, traits, history, breeds, jobs, lore, and superlatives. All this information leads up to the book's final pages focusing on things to consider before embarking (heh) on welcoming a pup into your home. Cartoon illustrations resembling Nick Sharratt's friendly style enliven the packed pages.

Reviewer: Kitty Flynn

(3) K-3 Ready-to-Read: Tails from History series. Illustrated by Rachel Sanson. The latest installments in this easy-reader series about famous animals in history present two new compelling protagonists: a Japanese Akita adopted by Helen Keller and a cat dubbed "mayor" of a small town in Alaska. Nakamura imposes mild drama on both "tails," while Sanson's straightforward and appealing cartoon illustrations give new readers lots of visual help with the narratives. Further facts are appended. Review covers these Ready-to-Read: Tails from History titles: The Cat Who Ruled the Town and A Puppy for Helen Keller.

Reviewer: Erica Wetter

(3) K-3 A Dog's Life series. Each book in this series for dog owners focuses on a different aspect of dog/human interactions, training beginning readers in proper, humane pet ownership. Expressive canine portraits and simple, bright graphics complement the clear, direct instructions, and the straightforward texts provide meaningful, interesting content. Each volume concludes with a hands-on activity. Websites. Glos., ind. Review covers these A Dog's Life titles: Bonding with Your Dog, Handling Your Dog, Listening to Your Dog, Sensing Like Your Dog, Speaking to Your Dog, and Treating Your Dog

Reviewer: Dorrie Karlin

(3) K-3 A Dog's Life series. Each book in this series for dog owners focuses on a different aspect of dog/human interactions, training beginning readers in proper, humane pet ownership. Expressive canine portraits and simple, bright graphics complement the clear, direct instructions, and the straightforward texts provide meaningful, interesting content. Each volume concludes with a hands-on activity. Websites. Glos., ind. Review covers these A Dog's Life titles: Bonding with Your Dog, Handling Your Dog, Listening to Your Dog, Sensing Like Your Dog, Speaking to Your Dog, and Treating Your Dog

Reviewer: Dorrie Karlin

(3) K-3 A Dog's Life series. Each book in this series for dog owners focuses on a different aspect of dog/human interactions, training beginning readers in proper, humane pet ownership. Expressive canine portraits and simple, bright graphics complement the clear, direct instructions, and the straightforward texts provide meaningful, interesting content. Each volume concludes with a hands-on activity. Websites. Glos., ind. Review covers these A Dog's Life titles: Bonding with Your Dog, Handling Your Dog, Listening to Your Dog, Sensing Like Your Dog, Speaking to Your Dog, and Treating Your Dog

Reviewer: Dorrie Karlin

(3) K-3 A Dog's Life series. Each book in this series for dog owners focuses on a different aspect of dog/human interactions, training beginning readers in proper, humane pet ownership. Expressive canine portraits and simple, bright graphics complement the clear, direct instructions, and the straightforward texts provide meaningful, interesting content. Each volume concludes with a hands-on activity. Websites. Glos., ind. Review covers these A Dog's Life titles: Bonding with Your Dog, Handling Your Dog, Listening to Your Dog, Sensing Like Your Dog, Speaking to Your Dog, and Treating Your Dog

Reviewer: Dorrie Karlin

(3) K-3 A Dog's Life series. Each book in this series for dog owners focuses on a different aspect of dog/human interactions, training beginning readers in proper, humane pet ownership. Expressive canine portraits and simple, bright graphics complement the clear, direct instructions, and the straightforward texts provide meaningful, interesting content. Each volume concludes with a hands-on activity. Websites. Glos., ind. Review covers these A Dog's Life titles: Bonding with Your Dog, Handling Your Dog, Listening to Your Dog, Sensing Like Your Dog, Speaking to Your Dog, and Treating Your Dog

Reviewer: Dorrie Karlin

(3) K-3 A Dog's Life series. Each book in this series for dog owners focuses on a different aspect of dog/human interactions, training beginning readers in proper, humane pet ownership. Expressive canine portraits and simple, bright graphics complement the clear, direct instructions, and the straightforward texts provide meaningful, interesting content. Each volume concludes with a hands-on activity. Websites. Glos., ind. Review covers these A Dog's Life titles: Bonding with Your Dog, Handling Your Dog, Listening to Your Dog, Sensing Like Your Dog, Speaking to Your Dog, and Treating Your Dog

Reviewer: Dorrie Karlin

(3) K-3 Granny Twinkle introduces breeds of cats, and some history, to a boy who comes to her house to choose a free kitten. She talks about Egyptian cat worship, exporting cats from Egypt to Europe, and cats' efforts to kill plague-carrying rats in the Middle Ages. More cat facts and an activity are appended to this new edition of the previously titled The Kids' Cat Book. Websites.

Reviewer: Kitty Flynn | Horn Book Magazine Issue: April, 1980

(3) 4-6 From hunters and protectors to lap dogs and playmates, the role of dogs throughout human history is chronicled in classic National Geographic style. Albee's engaging prose details the fascinating ways in which their history has intertwined with ours. Packed with information and images in an eye-catching layout, this volume will give dog lovers new appreciation for their beloved companions. Reading list. Bib., ind.

Reviewer: Kristy Pasquariello

(3) K-3 This funny face-off pits piglets against pugs, and they compete in categories as far-flung and silly as "biggest celebrity" representatives, "curliest tail," and "most talented." Information is presented in interesting (if somewhat crowded) text and National Geographic's signature eye-catching photographs. A framing comic has the two competitors in a boxing ring with fast-talking announcers and rowdy animal spectators. Reading list, websites. Ind.

Reviewer: Dorrie Karlin

(3) K-3 Fetch! series. These clean-looking volumes wisely focus on photos, with large, clear, and adorable images of the given breed on each spread. Friendly text (dachshunds "look like hot dogs") introduces readers to each breed's characteristics, personality, and care, and gives famous examples from movies and television (Frank in Men in Black, Gidget in Taco Bell commercials). These are age-appropriate overviews for current and future pet owners. Reading list, websites. Glos., ind. Review covers these Fetch! titles: Boxers, Chihuahuas, Dachshunds, and Pugs.

Reviewer: Rachel L. Smith

(3) K-3 Fetch! series. These clean-looking volumes wisely focus on photos, with large, clear, and adorable images of the given breed on each spread. Friendly text (dachshunds "look like hot dogs") introduces readers to each breed's characteristics, personality, and care, and gives famous examples from movies and television (Frank in Men in Black, Gidget in Taco Bell commercials). These are age-appropriate overviews for current and future pet owners. Reading list, websites. Glos., ind. Review covers these Fetch! titles: Boxers, Chihuahuas, Dachshunds, and Pugs.

Reviewer: Rachel L. Smith

(3) K-3 Fetch! series. These clean-looking volumes wisely focus on photos, with large, clear, and adorable images of the given breed on each spread. Friendly text (dachshunds "look like hot dogs") introduces readers to each breed's characteristics, personality, and care, and gives famous examples from movies and television (Frank in Men in Black, Gidget in Taco Bell commercials). These are age-appropriate overviews for current and future pet owners. Reading list, websites. Glos., ind. Review covers these Fetch! titles: Boxers, Chihuahuas, Dachshunds, and Pugs.

Reviewer: Rachel L. Smith

(3) K-3 Ready-to-Read: Tails from History series. Illustrated by Rachel Sanson. This amusing easy reader tells the silly-but-true story of President Calvin Coolidge's misfit pet Rebecca, a raccoon who ate her meals at the table and even participated in the White House Easter Egg Roll. Sanson's playful, cheery illustrations prominently feature the Coolidges' menagerie of unusual pets (including a donkey and a wallaby) while highlighting Rebecca's personality and her struggle to fit in. Additional facts are appended.

Reviewer: Erica Wetter

(4) 4-6 True Tales of Rescue series. Photographs by Virgil Ocampo. Three senior dogs "tell" their stories of abandonment, rescue, and (hopefully) finding a new home. The dogs' "voices" sound similar, but the content--about older-dog rescue, ways the dogs and caregivers accommodate "senior ills," and rescuer Val Lynch's Maryland sanctuary work--is compelling. Plenty of engaging photos in a friendly design make for an accessible presentation. An author's note and additional resources appended. Websites. Bib., glos.

Reviewer: Gail Hedges

(4) K-3 Illustrated by Marta Sorte. Each two-page spread presents a (not-very) "wacky" fact about a pet and a "More About..." blurb on that animal, with a slick, cartoony illustration on the facing page. The usual suspects, dogs and cats, are included, along with the less-common hedgehogs, rats, toads, and more. The lively writing and humorous pictures make this an entertaining browsing book; readers may be too entertained to realize they're also learning some science.

Reviewer: Janet Dawson

(3) K-3 When Pickles, the author's miniature rescue pig, becomes seriously ill and requires a blood transfusion, his "parents" frantically search for a porcine donor. They find one for sale, and Pickles is saved. But what to do with 650-pound Tickles? Tickles eventually finds a home at a farm for other rescued animals. Pickles "narrates" this unusual story; Johnson's photos of her pets are irresistible.

Reviewer: Gail Hedges

(3) K-3 Ready-to-Read: Tails from History series. Illustrated by Rachel Sanson. The latest installments in this easy-reader series about famous animals in history present two new compelling protagonists: a Japanese Akita adopted by Helen Keller and a cat dubbed "mayor" of a small town in Alaska. Nakamura imposes mild drama on both "tails," while Sanson's straightforward and appealing cartoon illustrations give new readers lots of visual help with the narratives. Further facts are appended. Review covers these Ready-to-Read: Tails from History titles: The Cat Who Ruled the Town and A Puppy for Helen Keller.

Reviewer: Erica Wetter

(3) 4-6 Photographs by William Muñoz. This visually loaded nonfiction book balances science and anecdote to explore how dogs and humans have evolved symbiotically. Ample source notes reveal the vast research underlying Patent's highly readable text, which is made even more accessible through its short sections, frequent tables, and many photographs (including Instagram-worthy interaction shots introducing each part). Reading list, websites. Ind.

Reviewer: Dorrie Karlin